It is generally recognized in the dental profession that plaque which remains on the teeth after brushing is a major cause of tooth and gum problems, and that flossing is the only effective process for removing that plaque. Unfortunately, flossing is not as popular as it should be, particularly among children, probably because of the difficulty and inconvenience of using known flossing products and techniques.
The most common commercial floss product is a multifilament thread of considerable length, e.g., 50 or 100 yards, wound on a packaged spool. Use of this product involves pulling an appropriate section of thread from the package, severing the withdrawn section and wrapping its ends about two fingers on opposite hands, and then working the section in the intertooth spaces while maintaining it in a taut state. These manipulations require a degree of dexterity which makes the flossing process unattractive to many people and very difficult for most children. In addition, maintenance of the tension required for effective plaque removal causes the thread to bind and tend to cut the user's fingers. Moreover, renewal of the active portion of the thread, which becomes frayed as flossing proceeds, necessitates the further inconvenient manipulations of unwinding thread from one finger and winding it onto the other finger. Finally, the packaged spools are somewhat bulky, so carrying the floss in a pocket or in a handbag is a burden. As a result, frequent use of the floss is discouraged.
The prior art also contains various examples of mechanical devices, in the form of frames, which are intended to hold a section of floss under tension, and thereby perform two of the main functions of the user's fingers. While this approach may have superficial appeal, it too has serious disadvantages which have kept flossing in its relatively unattractive condition. In the first place, the addition of another component increases the cost and the bulkiness of the flossing apparatus. Second, the frames of which I am aware are incapable of maintaining the floss under the tension required for good plaque removal throughout the cleaning process, none of them affords a convenient way of renewing the active portion of the thread, and they are not as effective as the fingers for performing the thread-wiggling manipulations which often are needed to insert the floss into small intertooth spaces. Finally, a mechanical frame lacks the sensitive feedback afforded by the user's fingers, and thus makes more likely the infliction of pain as the floss is forced against the gums.
The object of this invention is to provide an improved process and product which make flossing more attractive. According to the invention, the new technique employs a loop of multifilament flossing thread which is trained about the user's fingers. This technique requires only simple manipulations which are well within the capability of even a small child, eliminates binding and cutting of the fingers, and facilitates renewal of the active portion of the thread. Furthermore, since the loop has two potentially active portions intermediate the fingers, the technique inherently is more efficient and more versatile than known practices. For example, both active portions may be worked in the same intertooth space, or those portions may be worked in different spaces to clean either the opposite sides of the same tooth or the corresponding sides of adjacent teeth. In addition, the loop may be trained about a tooth and worked against the inner surface of the tooth. It also should be observed that the thread loop is a compact, unobtrusive element which may be transported easily on the person of the potential user.
The flossing loop may be made by gluing, heat sealing, knotting or air splicing overlapping portions of a multifilament thread. These techniques give an enlarged joint region, which is useful in removing plaque from tooth surfaces which bound a relatively wide intertooth space. They also are capable of providing at least one protruding tail on the loop which acts as a mop which sweeps from the intertooth spaces plaque dislodged from the teeth. A preferred loop is made from two separate lengths of multifilament thread which are air spliced together in longitudinally spaced regions and which are then cut to yield individual loops having diametrically opposed tails. These particular loops are stick-like and stiff enough to make possible packaging in a tube. Another, and perhaps the best, manufacturing technique is a winding process wherein an endless loop is defined by a multiplicity of intertwined turns of a single filament. This technique is considered attractive because it gives a joint-free loop which has the maximum degree of mechanical integrity, and seems to have the potential for achieving high rates of production at low cost. It does not, however, inherently provide loops having the desirable tails and enlarged section which characterize the loops made by the first mentioned techniques.